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January 2016 HR Newsletter

Welcome to 2016! We are excited to hit the ground running. This month we will take a look at five hot HR topics and cover the basics of the Employer Mandate reporting. Be sure to sign up for our weekly blog posts so that you can stay on top of important topics like preventing workplace harassment or proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act. MyPayrollHR is here to guide you through the new year!

Featured Article: Employer Mandate Reporting Requirements

Employer Mandate reporting for the 2015 tax year has begun. In this post, we will briefly explain the responsibilities of employers of different sizes and in different situations.

Reporting is mandatory for large employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees. It’s also mandatory for those small employers with less than 50 full-time equivalents that have a self-funded plan.

The specific tax forms you need to file depend on the size of your group and what type of health plan you offer.

Large employers that have a fully-funded health plan, are self-insured, or have no health plan are responsible for filing the 1094-C. This is a tax form that tells the IRS whether the employer provided minimum essential health insurance coverage to its full-time employees.

Large employers with a fully-funded health plan or no health plan must also distribute the 1095-C Parts I-II to each employee working 130+ hours per month and file them with the IRS. Large employers that are self-insured must file and distribute the 1095-C Parts I-III to each employee. The 1095-C tells the IRS and each employee what employer-provide coverage they had or didn’t have throughout the year.

For small groups with less than 50 full-time equivalent employees, there are no employer mandate reporting requirements under Section 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code. However, small employers offering a self-insured health plan do have reporting requirements under Section 6055 of the Internal Revenue Code. In that case, the employer should file a 1094-B with the IRS and the 1095-Bs should be filed and distributed to employees.

The insurance carrier is responsible for filing and distributing the 1094-B and 1095-Bs for small groups that are fully-funded. For small groups that are self-insured, the employer must complete the Form 1094-B and file and distribute a Form 1095-B for each enrolled employee. The insurance carrier maintains responsibility for filing the 1094-B for large groups that are fully-funded and the carrier will also provide a 1095-B to each enrolled employee. For large groups that are self-insured, the employer should complete the 1094-C and the 1095-Cs Parts I, II, and III.

After considering feedback from private sector businesses and insurers, the IRS has extended the deadlines for reporting 2015 information under the Affordable Care Act.

Employers now have until March 31 (previously before February 1) to provide employees with their Form 1095-C or Form 1095-B.

Additionally, the deadlines for employers to report offers of health coverage to the IRS (Forms 1094-B, 1094-C, 1095-B, and 1095-C) have been extended by three months: The deadline for paper filing (available only to employers submitting fewer than 250 1095-Cs) is now May 31. The deadline for electronic filing (available to all employers) is now June 30.

Again, the deadline extensions apply only to this year. The IRS will still begin accepting reporting in January.

HR Alert: New Year, New LawsWith the start of the new year, a number of new employment laws have gone into effect. California has the most—among them Equal Pay and additional protections against discrimination. Oregon has its new Paid Sick Leave law. And, of course, minimum wages have increased in 14 states. Be sure to check out our News Desk section of our HR Support Center for all relevant law updates!

HR Tip of the Month:

Regular harassment prevention training can significantly reduce the likelihood of workplace harassment as well as provide a valuable defense if your company is involved in a harassment suit. It’s important to let employees know that harassment related to any protected class will not be tolerated. Protected classes include race, nationality, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disability, just to name a few.

Harassment prevention training should be thorough, so assess whether you have the resources to put the training on yourself or whether you should seek outside assistance. Your employee handbook should have a detailed anti-harassment policy and a clear complaint procedure so that even an employee who may not attend training is familiar with your policies.

Did You Know?

In 2015, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor accepted nearly 22,000 complaints and collected over $246 million in back wages for employees. More than 10,000 of these claims related to unpaid or improperly paid overtime. Nearly half of the claims were from the restaurant industry. And an incredible 78% of those who filed complaints received back pay.

Looking Ahead:

January 7: Orthodox Christmas
January 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 19: Tax Season Begins

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All content provided on the MyPayrollHR blog is for informational purposes only. MyPayrollHR makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. MyPayrollHR will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. MyPayrollHR will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

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